MINUTES OF MEETING OF BOARD OF ELECTRICAL APPEALS September 13, 2005 - 3:00 p.m. OFFICE OF CENTRAL INSPECTION CITY HALL, 455 NORTH MAIN OCI CONFERENCE ROOM, 7th FLOOR Chairman Roy Meinhardt called the meeting to order at 3:05 pm, with Board members Dale Johnson, John Whittit, Harold Ragland, Jerry Addington and Secretary Tom Kerschen present. Also present was Steve Schauner electrical inspector and Mike Hood elevator inspector. Board members, Larry Clark and Larry Hackney were absent. The minutes of the June 28, 2005 special meeting were read. Board member Whittit made a motion the minutes be approved as written, it was seconded by Board member Ragland and approved. The recent examination results from Experior Assessments for electrical examinations administered by their office for City of Wichita approved applicants were presented to the Board. The results were as follows: APPLICANT APPLICANT EXAMINATION EXAMINATION NAME NUMBER CLASSIFICATION RESULT Charles Ingram 0375 Master Passed Paul Bohlken 3552 Journeyman Failed Alan Lee Rader 5744 Journeyman Failed Gary Lindow 8802 Journeyman Passed Jason DeBerry 9735 Journeyman Passed Michael Henley 0231 Journeyman Failed Heath Alcaraz 9570 Res. Journeyman Passed Richard Diaz 2270 Res. Journeyman Failed Terry Rowe 5675 Res. Journeyman Failed Five (5) Master Electrician, five (5) Journeymen Electrician and five (5) Residential Journeyman Electrician examination applications were reviewed for approval to be administered the appropriate examination for certification. The results were as follows: NAME NUMBER CLASSIFICATION ACTION Jon Cagle 7400 Master Approved Michael Schartz 7082 Master Approved Travis Eck 6152 Master Approved Donald Lavallee 2256 Master Approved Bradley Ashcraft 4938 Master Approved Joshua Cagle 4999 Journeyman Approved Joe D. Correll Jr. 7098 Journeyman Approved Paul Bohlken 3552 Journeyman Approved Michael Henley 0231 Journeyman Approved Alan Lee Rader 5744 Journeyman Approved Heath Alcaraz 9570 Res. Journeyman Approved Richard Diaz 2270 Res. Journeyman Approved Terry Rowe 5675 Res. Journeyman Approved Devon Ward 8584 Res. Journeyman Approved Erick D. West 3068 Res. Journeyman Approved Under part A of the new business section of the agenda, the Board welcomed Dave DauffenBach of Electrical Systems Inc. Secretary Kerschen explained to the Board that at Berean Church, 1230 N Hoover 4/0 AWG aluminum conductors were ran from the transformer, with the meter on the transformer, to the 200 amp main breaker in each of 2 service panels. Section 19.12.080 of the City of Wichita Title 19 states that conductors rated 200 ampere or less on commercial/industrial buildings are to be copper. 4/0 AWG aluminum conductors ran underground are rated for 180 amperes and as such would require to be copper conductors. Mr. DauffenBach explained to the Board that after this was brought to his attention by the electrical inspector he reworked the connections at the building by installing a junction box on the building where the conduit came out of the ground, and connected the 2 sets of 4/0 AWG aluminum wire together in parallel and than ran individual 3/0 AWG copper conductors from that junction box to each 200 amp main breaker. Mr. DauffenBach brought pictures and passed around to the Board members to show the connections made. Mr. DauffenBach pointed out that the 2002 NEC article 310.4 states "Aluminum, copper-clad aluminum, or copper conductors or size 1/0 AWG and larger, comprising each phase, neutral, or grounded circuit conductor, shall be permitted to be connected in parallel (electrically joined at both ends to form a single conductor). He went on to say this if the 2 4/0 AWG conductors are now considered one conductor with a total cross-sectional area of 423kcmil and would have an ampere rating of at least 270 ampere which would allow for aluminum conductors per section 19.12.080 of Title 19. Chairman Meinhardt thanked Mr. DauffenBach for presenting his case to the Board and explained that the Board would continue to discuss this later in the meeting and would have Secretary Kerschen notify Mr. DauffenBach by mail of the Board's decision. Mr. DauffenBach thanked the Board for listening and excused himself from the meeting. The Board continued to discuss in length whether aluminum was allowed in this situation and checked the 2005 NEC, which the Board has been reviewing for adoption, and found that article 310.4 was changed and the wording "to form a single conductor" has been removed. After continued discussion Board member Whittit made a motion to allow the 4/0 AWG aluminum conductors, that have now been connected in parallel, on this instance and to add wording in Title 19 such as to clarify the intent which is that each individual conductor needs to be rated at 200 amperes. Board member Ragland seconded the motion and it unanimously passed. The Board then went back to part A of the unfinished business section of the agenda which is the continued review of the 2005 NEC and Title 19. We continued the review in chapter 19.12 of Title 19 and the Board agreed with all changes with the exception of clarifying section 19.12.080 as to parallel conductors. The main changes are repealing the exception to arc fault circuit interrupters and modifying the requirements of in-use weather proof covers. Under part B and C of the new business section of the agenda, the Board reviewed Chapters 19.22, 19.24 and 19.28 of Title 19. Chapter 19.22 is a newly created chapter to consolidate all the main references to the elevator/escalator code into one general area. Each section was explained to the Board by Secretary Kerschen and Mike Hood. The main additions to the elevator requirements are the requirements of elevator mechanics to have a certification issued by the City of Wichita, adding the permit fee table and defining the alterations and repairs that require permits. Also in Chapters 19.22, 19.24 and 19.28 requiring a tag at the main telephone terminal of a building to identify the telephone line dedicated to the elevator. After reviewing all the sections, a motion was made by Board member Whittit to recommend the proposed changes to Title 19 to the City Council for final adoption, pending the additional wording clarifying section 19.12.080 pertaining to parallel conductors and approval of said wording by email to each Board member. The motion was seconded by Board member Ragland and unanimously passed. With no other business to conduct, Board member Whittit made a motion to adjourn. Board member Ragland seconded the motion and the meeting adjourned. The time was 5:37 pm. Tom Kerschen, Secretary, Board of Electrical Appeals 1